NEWPORT, R.I. — Eric LeGrand’s tire tracks littered the snowy ground at High Point Solutions Stadium on Oct. 29, 2011, his first appearance on the field since suffering the paralyzing injury that gained the nation’s notice.

He tweeted soon after that footprints would eventually replace them.

It remains to be seen if LeGrand will walk again by Sept. 14, but the former Rutgers defensive tackle will again take the Piscataway field — this time to see his No. 52 retired.

“We’re the birthplace of college football,” LeGrand told scarletreport.com Tuesday. “To have my number retired after everyone who’s played there — Ray Rice, Brian Leonard, all of those greats and people that I don’t even know from the 1800s and 1900s — it’s truly incredible. I never would have thought this would happen. After everything, I appreciate it and understand what it means.”

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Head coach Kyle Flood announced the decision Tuesday during his American Athletic Conference press availability. The ceremony will take place Sept. 14 against Eastern Michigan.

“The one caveat that I put on it with him (is) that he’s going go back to the (MetLife Stadium), to where it happened, and he’s goingto get up from that spot and he’s going to walk off the field,” Flood said. “And I told him, I know you’re going do that, too.”

Flood plans to eventually lift the jersey from retirement if LeGrand walks again, making a ceremonial gesture of giving it to a team leader. Only Khaseem Greene, a two-time Big East Defensive MVP and friend of LeGrand’s, has worn the number since.

“His reaction was very typical Eric,” Flood said. “Eric said, ‘Coach, I was wondering when you were going to do that.’ That was awesome.”

LeGrand has made several public appearances at Rutgers and served as a color analyst last season on the Rutgers Radio Network during home games. He is still working toward his undergraduate degree after beginning to take classes via Skype.

Only 25 players remain from the 2010 roster, of which LeGrand was a part.

“The first experience with him was when he came in a little after he was able to come out of the hospital,” junior linebacker Kevin Snyder said. “He came and talked to us as a team. You could hear a pin drop in the room.”

Snow gusts and frigid temperatures kept High Point Solutions Stadium from capacity during LeGrand’s return, which became Sports Illustrated’s moment of the year. It likely will not be the case in the second week of September.

“Just a lot of pride him and in our program and how he’s handling things,” Snyder said. “It’s a really prideful moment and it’s a testament to how a Rutgers man would handle things.”

NOTES: Junior quarterback Gary Nova said he’s been focused on conducting a more efficient offense in the offseason. “(I’m) looking at the game totally different,” he said. “Not trying to score on every play, just trying to move the chains.” … Junior Brandon Coleman doesn’t put much stock in having a third offensive coordinator in as many seasons. “It’s the same system,” Coleman said of Ron Prince’s offense. “You just learn to adjust. The game of football is about adjusting.” … Snyder and fifth-year senior Isaac Holmes could see Rutgers’ defense sprinkling in odd-man fronts in 2013.